1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dressings, and more specifically to shape and pressure adjustable dressings.
2. Prior Art
In many situations, dressings are desired to apply certain amount of pressure on the wound or apply certain amount of force to close a wound or keep it closed, sometimes over time as inflammation subsides. In other situations, it may be desired to increase the pressure or force over time to assist healing without a change in the dressing. In yet other situations it may be desirable to vary the pressure or force distribution over time. However, the currently available materials used for dressing wound are difficult if not impossible to be used to achieve the above results in general, and to achieve it with ease and in a reliable manner in particular, even with the use of such aids as elastic components or tension fixtures.
In other situations, the dressing may be required to cover certain surfaces over the body that due to the shape of the surfaces, it may be difficult to make a close fit and even more difficult to apply pressure to the surface and sustain the applied pressure over time. In such situations, the dressing has to not only conform to the covered surfaces, but at the same time may have to provide a certain pattern of pressure or force to achieve certain goals.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,834,232 the inventors disclose methods and means of providing dressings that can be used to apply pressure to the skin for different types of wounds to perform many of the aforementioned tasks by releasing a member from the dressing to allow the dressing to change the shape of the dressing. In situations in which a blister has formed at a location on the patient skin such as due to burn of mechanical friction or impact, etc., and in particular when the fluid collected inside the blister under the skin of the injured region is applying relatively large enough pressure to the underlying tissues that reduces and in some cases even stops blood flow to these tissues, it is highly desirable to reduce such relatively high pressures to the underlying tissues to enhance blood flow into and out of these tissues to prevent further damage to these tissues and enhance the healing process. In certain situations, the above goal is achieved by providing certain amount of relative vacuum to over the blister region. In many situations, however, it is highly desirable to relieve the pressure by puncturing the blister to allow the fluid to be discharged—at least partially—to reduce the build-up of pressure. In general, it is also highly desirable that in addition to puncturing the blister to allow the fluid discharge, certain amount of vacuum to be also applied to the region to reduce the required size of the puncture; to assist fluid discharge; and to enhance fluid flow into and out of the underlying regions of the blister. Once the blister is punctured, it is essential that the punctured blister be kept clean and medicated to prevent the possibility of infection.